I've often browsed this great site but now have finally joined.
I have various hifi bits and pieces from 70's Quad to 50/60's leak valve stuff which need overhaul, fixing etc and this site seems to be a great place to mine group experience and advice.
I also have a fully working pair of Wharfedale SFB3 speakers that were, with a leak 20/20, my dads treasured stereo.
Any info, advice appreciated as I can't fit them in my home and don't really know what to do with them
cheers
Jon
I have various hifi bits and pieces from 70's Quad to 50/60's leak valve stuff which need overhaul, fixing etc and this site seems to be a great place to mine group experience and advice.
I also have a fully working pair of Wharfedale SFB3 speakers that were, with a leak 20/20, my dads treasured stereo.
Any info, advice appreciated as I can't fit them in my home and don't really know what to do with them
cheers
Jon
Greeting from Oz...although I too am originally a Pom (left Bristol 1957).
BIG EDIT!!
Hi Jon. I wrote the following before looking at your profile. You obviously really know what you're doing technically. So I apologize in advance if what I have written below is way too basic or inappropriate. Sorry.
Re; the SFB3. I see what you mean about placing them.
You've got some options. It really depends on the emotional attachment you have to them (or otherwise). Also to the actual sound they have. Any departure from the open baffle design will alter that....but not necessarily for the worse.
I know what you mean about inheriting stuff. I have four drivers, including single sided electrostatic tweeters, from my father's 1960's Nordmende 'radiogram' which I am very reluctant to part with.
If you want to maintain their physical integrity you are in the area of renovating your house or moving!
But more seriously, if you can live with re-housing the drivers then they could be made into a 3-way, freestanding 'tower' with a minimum foot print of about 15" by 15" and a height of around 3'.
A much more radical, but much smaller, option is to just use the 10" driver and tweeter in a 2-way enclosure......and store the 12" unit.
That might be an acceptable compromise. This would allow you to keep the drivers and then give some thought to up grading the cross-over which is absolutely basic on the SFB3 i.e. one capacitor. There is some real room for improvement there.
A complicated solution would be to re-house the drivers and then store the baffles somewhere else. They are relatively flat and you can put them in the attic until sometime in the future when you can afford a bigger house and then restore them to their original condition.
It really depends on your relationship to the equipment.
There will be Wharfedale aficionados around who might buy into this question with more helpful info'.
When it comes to making decisions about emotional issues I have a perspective that I use with families when discussing funeral services. (I am an Anglican, C of E, clergyman.) If there is a question about who is to speak at the service or some other issues that has members reflecting on the appropriateness of what to do, I ask them to imagine how they will feel about it in 6/12 months time when they look back on the occasion. I.e. what will they want to remember from that important day.
(btw I have the 5th edition of Gilbert Briggs hardcover speaker book if there is data in there that is any use to you. I'm happy to chase stuff up.)
Anyway, welcome to the forum and good luck with the speakers.
Cheers, Jonathan and again,my apologies if I have badly misunderstood the situation.
BIG EDIT!!
Hi Jon. I wrote the following before looking at your profile. You obviously really know what you're doing technically. So I apologize in advance if what I have written below is way too basic or inappropriate. Sorry.
Re; the SFB3. I see what you mean about placing them.
You've got some options. It really depends on the emotional attachment you have to them (or otherwise). Also to the actual sound they have. Any departure from the open baffle design will alter that....but not necessarily for the worse.
I know what you mean about inheriting stuff. I have four drivers, including single sided electrostatic tweeters, from my father's 1960's Nordmende 'radiogram' which I am very reluctant to part with.
If you want to maintain their physical integrity you are in the area of renovating your house or moving!
But more seriously, if you can live with re-housing the drivers then they could be made into a 3-way, freestanding 'tower' with a minimum foot print of about 15" by 15" and a height of around 3'.
A much more radical, but much smaller, option is to just use the 10" driver and tweeter in a 2-way enclosure......and store the 12" unit.
That might be an acceptable compromise. This would allow you to keep the drivers and then give some thought to up grading the cross-over which is absolutely basic on the SFB3 i.e. one capacitor. There is some real room for improvement there.
A complicated solution would be to re-house the drivers and then store the baffles somewhere else. They are relatively flat and you can put them in the attic until sometime in the future when you can afford a bigger house and then restore them to their original condition.
It really depends on your relationship to the equipment.
There will be Wharfedale aficionados around who might buy into this question with more helpful info'.
When it comes to making decisions about emotional issues I have a perspective that I use with families when discussing funeral services. (I am an Anglican, C of E, clergyman.) If there is a question about who is to speak at the service or some other issues that has members reflecting on the appropriateness of what to do, I ask them to imagine how they will feel about it in 6/12 months time when they look back on the occasion. I.e. what will they want to remember from that important day.
(btw I have the 5th edition of Gilbert Briggs hardcover speaker book if there is data in there that is any use to you. I'm happy to chase stuff up.)
Anyway, welcome to the forum and good luck with the speakers.
Cheers, Jonathan and again,my apologies if I have badly misunderstood the situation.
Last edited:
Hi Jonathan
Thank you for a Really supportive and helpful post
I may be a sound pro but that certainly doesn’t mean I’m an expert in all things sound related, especially the complexities of speaker design so all comments greatfully received.
You touch on the emotional ties that might go with inherited objects and I do understand this
My father had kept his stereo running by keeping it serviced over the years.
We lived in Cheshire outside Manchester and my mother being from Yorkshire meant many visits to “Gods own country” as the Yorkshire folk would have it.
He was lucky to have the SFB 3’s serviced by a contemporary of Briggs at Wharfedale, who continued to do so when he retired.
The sound of the Leak-Wharfedale combo is a wonderful, room filling sound, choral work in particular is glorious.
I will keep them as is, but if I find a good home for them I will consider it.
Many thanks again for your kind response
Jon
Thank you for a Really supportive and helpful post
I may be a sound pro but that certainly doesn’t mean I’m an expert in all things sound related, especially the complexities of speaker design so all comments greatfully received.
You touch on the emotional ties that might go with inherited objects and I do understand this
My father had kept his stereo running by keeping it serviced over the years.
We lived in Cheshire outside Manchester and my mother being from Yorkshire meant many visits to “Gods own country” as the Yorkshire folk would have it.
He was lucky to have the SFB 3’s serviced by a contemporary of Briggs at Wharfedale, who continued to do so when he retired.
The sound of the Leak-Wharfedale combo is a wonderful, room filling sound, choral work in particular is glorious.
I will keep them as is, but if I find a good home for them I will consider it.
Many thanks again for your kind response
Jon
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